Devices and Printers Freezing in Windows 11 9 Easy Fixes

You open Devices and Printers, the window turns white, the cursor spins, and Windows says “Not Responding.” Or the window opens but hangs the moment you click Add a printer or right-click a device.

This is a common Windows 11 problem. The cause is usually one of a few things: a stuck print job, a broken or duplicate printer entry, a network printer that’s switched off or unreachable, or a bad driver. Below are the fixes in order, from quickest to most involved. Work through them from the top and stop when the freeze goes away.

Why Devices and Printers Freezes in Windows 11

Devices and Printers isn’t just a list of printers. When it opens, Windows checks the status of every printer, scanner, Bluetooth device, and USB peripheral listed there. If one of them doesn’t respond, the whole window waits for it and appears frozen.

The usual causes are:

• A print job stuck in the queue or a spooler service that has stopped responding
• Old, duplicate, or “ghost” printers, especially network printers that are now offline
• A damaged or incompatible printer driver
• A network printer using a flaky connection type (WSD ports are a common one)
• A Bluetooth device that’s slow to respond
• Corrupted Windows system files

A quick note on opening it. On Windows 11 22H2 and later, double-clicking Devices and Printers in the classic Control Panel redirects you to the Bluetooth & devices page in Settings rather than opening the old window. If you’re trying to reach the classic window and it keeps jumping to Settings, paste Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Devices and Printers into the Control Panel address bar. mysysadmintipsmysysadmintips

Before You Start Narrow Down the Trigger

Spend a minute on these checks. They often point you to the right fix.

• Does it freeze every time, or only sometimes? Every time usually means a bad printer entry or driver. Occasional freezes usually point to a network printer that goes offline or to Bluetooth.
• Does it freeze when you open the window, or only when you click Add a printer? Freezing on open points to an existing device. Freezing only on Add points to printer discovery or a Settings problem.
• Is the printer on? If you have a network printer that’s currently switched off, turn it on or unplug it from the PC and try again.

Restart Windows Explorer

Devices and Printers runs through Explorer. Restarting Explorer clears a stuck window without a full reboot.

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. On the Processes tab, find Windows Explorer.
3. Right-click it and select Restart.
   
4. Your taskbar will flicker for a second. Open Devices and Printers again.

If it still freezes, restart the PC once. A fresh boot clears hung driver calls that Explorer can’t clear.

Clear the Print Queue and Restart the Print Spooler

A stuck print job is one of the most common causes. Devices and Printers asks the spooler for printer status, and if the spooler is jammed, the window hangs.

Restart the spooler service

1. Press Windows + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
2. Scroll down to Print Spooler.
3. Right-click it and select Restart.

1. Open Devices and Printers again.

If it still hangs, clear the queue manually

This removes every pending print job, so only do it if you don’t need them.

1. Right-click Start and select Terminal (Admin), then approve the prompt.
2. Run these commands one at a time:

net stop spooler
del /Q /F /S "%systemroot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*.*"
net start spooler

3. Open Devices and Printers again.

The del command only deletes the contents of the PRINTERS folder (the queued job files). It doesn’t remove the folder or any drivers.

Remove Duplicate, Offline, and Unused Printers

Old printer entries are a very common cause, especially in offices or after moving between Wi-Fi networks. Windows tries to contact every listed printer, and each offline one adds a delay or a hang.

1. Open Settings (Windows + I) and go to Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
2. Click any printer you no longer use, or one marked offline, or any duplicates.
3. Click Remove and confirm.

1. Restart the PC, then check Devices and Printers.

If removing everything isn’t practical, remove the printers one at a time and test after each one. The one that stops the freeze is your culprit. Then re-add only the printers you actually use.

Turn Off Bluetooth Temporarily

Devices and Printers also lists Bluetooth devices, and a slow one can stall the window. If it opens slowly, try turning Bluetooth off in Settings and see if it helps. thewindowsclub

1. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices.
2. Switch the Bluetooth toggle to Off.

1. Open Devices and Printers and check whether it loads normally.

If that solves it, turn Bluetooth back on and remove any Bluetooth device you no longer use. Re-pair only the ones you need.

Update or Reinstall the Printer Driver

A damaged driver, or one left over from an old printer, can freeze the window as soon as Windows loads it.

Update the driver first

Microsoft recommends letting Windows find a compatible driver first. If that doesn’t work, download one from the printer manufacturer. Make sure it matches Windows 11 and your system type (64-bit for nearly all modern PCs). Microsoft’s driver compatibility guide covers this.

Remove the old driver completely

If a fresh install doesn’t help, the old driver package may still be sitting on the PC.

1. Press Windows + R, type printui /s /t2, and press Enter. This opens Print Server Properties on the Drivers tab.
2. Select the driver for the problem printer.
3. Click Remove, choose Remove driver and driver package, and confirm.

1. Restart the PC and install the latest driver from the manufacturer’s site.

Be careful here. If you have more than one printer from the same maker using the same driver, removing it affects all of them, so check the list before you delete anything. This works on both Home and Pro editions.

Switch a Network Printer From a WSD Port to a Standard TCP/IP Port

If the freeze only happens with a Wi-Fi or Ethernet printer, the connection type may be the problem. Many network printers are added using a WSD port, which relies on automatic discovery and can hang when the printer is asleep or the network is slow. A standard TCP/IP port connects straight to the printer’s IP address and is usually steadier.

1. Find your printer’s IP address on its display, or on a network configuration page it can print.
2. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select your printer, and click Printer properties.
3. Open the Ports tab and click Add Port.
4. Choose Standard TCP/IP Port and click New Port.

1. Enter the printer’s IP address, finish the wizard, and make sure the new port is ticked.
2. Click Apply.

For best results, set a DHCP reservation for the printer in your router so its IP address doesn’t change.

Run the Printer Troubleshooter

Microsoft now points Windows 11 users to the automated printer troubleshooter in the Get Help app, which runs diagnostics and tries to fix common printer problems for you. Open Microsoft’s printer problems page and follow the prompt to launch it. On some builds you can also find a Printer troubleshooter under Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters. It won’t always catch freezes, but it’s quick and safe.

Repair System Files With DISM and SFC

If the freeze happens even with no printers installed, or other Control Panel pages hang too, corrupted Windows files may be involved.

1. Right-click Start and select Terminal (Admin).
2. Run:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

3. When it finishes (it can take several minutes), run:

sfc /scannow

4. Restart the PC when the scan completes.

Microsoft recommends running DISM before SFC, which is why the order matters. Both commands are built into Windows, and neither deletes your personal files. See Microsoft’s System File Checker guide for how to read the results.

Check Recent Updates and Look for the Faulting App

If the freezes started right after a Windows update or a driver update, that update is your main suspect.

1. Press Windows + R, type perfmon /rel, and press Enter to open Reliability Monitor.
2. Look for red X entries on the days the freezes happened. Entries naming explorer.exe, SystemSettings.exe, or a printer-related file can confirm where the problem is.
3. If an update lines up with the first freeze, go to Settings > Windows Update > Update history > Uninstall updates and remove that update. Pause updates briefly while you wait for a fix.
4. Run a full scan in Windows Security, since malware can also cause hangs.

As a last resort, a repair install (in-place upgrade) reinstalls Windows while keeping your files and apps. One user on a Windows 11 forum reported that a repair install fixed repeated Control Panel faults after other fixes failed. Back up your data first. On many builds you’ll find it under Settings > System > Recovery.

FAQs

Why does Devices and Printers open Settings instead of the classic window?

Starting with Windows 11 22H2, the classic Devices and Printers entry in Control Panel redirects to Settings. Pasting the full Control Panel path into the address bar, as shown at the top of this article, opens the classic view.

Can I fix this without reinstalling Windows?

In most cases, yes. Clearing the print queue, removing old printers, and reinstalling the driver solve the majority of freezes. A repair install is only worth considering after everything else fails.

Why does it only freeze when my network printer is turned off?

Windows keeps trying to reach the printer and waits for a response that never comes. Remove printers you no longer use, or switch to a Standard TCP/IP port (Fix 6).

Is it safe to delete files in the spool\PRINTERS folder?

Yes, as long as you stop the Print Spooler service first and delete only the files inside the folder. It only holds temporary print jobs. You’ll lose any jobs still waiting, so reprint those afterward.

Should I use Settings instead of Devices and Printers?

For everyday use, yes. Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners is the modern route and works on all editions. The classic window is still useful for some advanced options, which is why this problem matters to many users.

Conclusion

A frozen Devices and Printers window almost always traces back to one problem device or a stuck print job. Restart the spooler and clear the queue first, then remove old or offline printers, and reinstall the driver if it still hangs. If you use a network printer, switching from a WSD port to a Standard TCP/IP port often keeps the freezes from coming back. The SFC and DISM repairs and a repair install are only worth trying after these simpler fixes fail.